Quick Snapshot

Brand: MIXI

Objective: Validate whether MIXI's gacha RPG could resonate with Indian student gamers before a wider national rollout

Approach: Community-led soft launch + creator onboarding ecosystem + retention-focused content testing

The Challenge

Launching a gacha RPG in India comes with a unique challenge: high onboarding drop-offs, genre unfamiliarity outside core anime gaming audiences, difficulty sustaining retention after initial installs, and limited insight into how Indian student gamers engage with progression-based RPG systems.

Before scaling nationally, MIXI needed to stress-test onboarding behavior, understand content formats that drove retention, evaluate creator-led audience response, and identify friction points across the player journey. The challenge wasn't just acquiring users, it was validating whether long-term engagement loops could work in the Indian gaming ecosystem.

The Strategy

Stan designed a controlled creator-and-community-led soft launch built around real gameplay behavior, onboarding analysis, and student gaming ecosystems.

1. Embedding the Launch Inside College Gaming Communities — Rather than launching broadly, the activation focused on college gaming circles, student esports communities, and highly social gaming environments, creating faster peer-to-peer adoption, organic gameplay discussions, and stronger participation feedback loops. This let MIXI observe authentic onboarding and retention behavior under real social conditions.

2. Precision KOL Activation Across the Full Onboarding Funnel — Stan activated 7 carefully selected KOLs, each aligned to a different stage of the player onboarding experience. Instead of repetitive creator content, the campaign tested first-impression reactions, gameplay tutorials, character collection excitement, progression mechanics, community engagement moments, and retention-focused storytelling, allowing MIXI to evaluate which formats improved onboarding, what motivated replay behavior, and which creator narratives drove the strongest response.

3. Multi-Format Content Stress Testing — Stan produced 20 dedicated videos across 7 distinct content brief formats, identifying what sustained viewer interest, which narratives translated into gameplay continuation, and how creators could reduce onboarding friction. The campaign turned creator content into a live behavioral-testing ecosystem.

4. Soft Launch Built Around Organic Feedback Loops — Instead of aggressive paid acquisition, the launch emphasized organic creator engagement, community-led discussions, and real-time player observations, giving MIXI authentic player sentiment, actionable onboarding insights, and early retention learnings before national scaling.

Execution Highlights

• Embedded the launch inside college gaming ecosystems
• Activated 7 strategically selected KOLs
• Produced 20 retention-focused content assets
• Tested 7 unique content brief structures
• Stress-tested onboarding and replay behavior
• Combined creator storytelling with live gameplay validation

The Impact

• 51K+ Organic Soft-Launch Views — strong early visibility driven by community-first creator engagement
• 20 Videos Produced — diverse content testing across onboarding and retention stages
• 7 KOLs Activated — targeted creator participation aligned with player journey mapping
• 7 Content Brief Types Covered — comprehensive testing across multiple engagement narratives

Key Takeaway

Instead of treating MIXI's launch as a traditional awareness campaign, Stan transformed the soft launch into a creator-powered retention testing ecosystem. By combining college gaming communities, funnel-specific creator storytelling, multi-format onboarding experiments, and organic feedback-driven testing, the campaign helped MIXI validate product-market resonance while building an engaged early-stage gaming community before national expansion.